Perspective is a funny thing

Perspective is a funny thing. It is both a physical and mental location. It is one of my constant challenges as a beginning artist and the more time I spend with it the more I realize how big a part it plays in our daily and professional lives. Our point of view on any subject, from how we see this particular day to our expectations regarding a student’s progress, to how we see our own successes and failures (only a small sampling) can manage our actions and reactions in any situation.

Our success or failure, even our emotional health depends on our perspective. Psychologists refer to this as “framing” a situation and it literally is. Depending on where we actually place the frame, it may appear that we are viewing the object from afar or very close up; from above or to the side.

Teachers and mushers have a very similar task in many ways. Our goal is to get our team across the line healthy, strong and having overcome the obstacles along the way.

Being aware of our own perspective manages our expectations and consequently our successes. Being able to adjust our perspective, reframing as we move down the trail with a specific goal in mind requires flexibility, but also strengthens the possibility of success. Flexibility and reframing allow us to see our teams and our goals in the most clear and useful manner.

So our first step this year is to imagine our goal, put a frame around it and examine carefully what we included and how we arranged it. Is the most important thing the biggest? In the center? Or small and off to one side?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Now that I have made your planning more complex (no need to thank me) . . . enjoy the experience . . . and my stumbling attempts to get it right.